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I miss seeing Ta-Nehisi Coates' perspective on Twitter. I'm not sure when exactly he deactivated his account, but I could always count on deep and thoughtful analysis on complex issues, particularly race, from him.
"Between the World and Me," written to his teenage son, shares scholarly and personal perspectives on being Black in America. What stood out to me the most throughout this book is how Coates' talks to his son about his body and the bodies of Black women and men. Two quotes of many that stay with me:
"But you are a Black boy, and you must be responsible for your body in a way that other boys cannot know. Indeed, you must be responsible for the worst actions of other Black bodies, which, somehow, will always be assigned to you."
"At the onset of the Civil War, our stolen bodies were worth $4 billion, more than all of American industry, all of American railroads, workshops, and factories combined, and the prime product rendered by our stolen bodies - cotton - was America's primary export."
If you are not familiar with Coates, I recommend reading his essays at The Atlantic and then diving in to his books, starting with this one. As Toni Morrison says, it's "required reading."
I am currently listening to this book on Audible. And wow, it is powerful. It's read by Coates' himself and his descriptions of The Mecca are something I'll never forget. Not only a powerful visual but to me, it also invokes visions of Wakanda. Fitting, as Coates was a writer for the Marvel project. A few examples below that struck me –
"I first witnessed this power out on the yard...I saw everything I knew of my black self multiplied out into seemingly endless variations."
"The warmth of dark energies that drew me to The Mecca, that drew out Prince Jones, the warmth of our particular world, is beautiful, no matter how brief and breakable."
I listened to the audiobook read by Coates as well. Listening to his voice, speaking to his son was powerful and emotional.
And yes, his descriptions of Howard/the Mecca made me think about how it is this place of belonging and becoming for so many, and how we can also foster these spaces that make people feel inner warmth and power.